Su Changyu was stunned.
He had walked the Sword Dao for twenty years, beginning his sword training at eight. The strongest sword expert he had ever seen was nothing more than someone who could split a boulder with one strike.
Slicing the sun, moon, and stars clean with a single blade of grass?
How much showing off was that?
Using a single blade of grass to cut down all the sun, moon, and stars in the heavens—he wouldn't even dare to imagine such a scene.
Showing off.
That was just showing off way too much.
Good. Very good. Very good indeed.
This line was truly excellent. It belonged to him, Su, now.
After secretly drawing a cold breath, Su Changyu's expression did not change in the slightest. He recovered his composure and turned his gaze back to Ye Ping.
This little junior brother was clearly a kindred spirit.
Both were experts at showing off.
This was not good news.
If the Qingyun Dao Sect only allowed one person to show off, then that person had to be him.
No one was allowed to snatch away his position as the ultimate show-off senior brother. No one.
"Junior Brother, on the path of cultivation, stability is key. You are aiming a bit too high."
Su Changyu spoke, his words carrying some reprimand.
In an instant, Ye Ping immediately lowered his head, looking a bit flustered.
"These were careless words. I hope Senior Brother will not blame me. From now on, this Junior Brother will never speak recklessly."
Ye Ping was a bit flustered. He had originally thought that speaking this way would earn praise, but he hadn't expected his senior brother to actually reprimand him.
In that moment, Ye Ping suddenly realized.
In Su Changyu's eyes, he was just an ordinary, unremarkable new disciple—a mortal disciple. How could he possibly understand so much, let alone speak of slicing the sun, moon, and stars with a blade of grass? Such words simply couldn't come from the mouth of a newly accepted disciple.
So he truly had spoken recklessly.
But as soon as these words were spoken, Su Changyu shook his head.
"That won't be necessary. Your ambition is understandable to this Senior Brother. I only hope that you can proceed step by step and build a solid foundation. If you have further insights in the future, you may tell this Senior Brother, but do not speak carelessly to outsiders, lest you bring trouble upon yourself. Understood?"
Su Changyu said.
How could such a show-off line not be spoken? If you don't say it, how am I supposed to show off when I travel the world?
You can say it, but only to me alone.
Su Changyu thought to himself.
"Alright, Senior Brother already knows your talent. Now, I shall teach you the true Sword Dao."
Soon, Su Changyu stopped wasting time.
He lightly jumped down from the boulder, appearing incredibly graceful.
Upon hearing these words, Ye Ping grew even more excited.
The true Sword Dao?
The peerless Sword Dao?
Ye Ping was thrilled.
He was very happy and full of anticipation.
Meanwhile, Su Changyu didn't waste a single word. He gripped his three-foot green edge sword, twirled it in a flourish, then stared at the ground, closed his eyes, and remained silent for a long time.
After a full incense stick's worth of time, Su Changyu suddenly moved, his long sword drawing a sword mark across the ground.
For a moment, stone fragments flew in all directions, and then a straight sword mark appeared on the ground.
Hah!
Su Changyu exhaled a breath.
Then he looked at Ye Ping and slowly spoke.
"Ye Ping, I have already engraved peerless sword intent onto this ground. Do not underestimate this sword mark—it bears the imprint of this Senior Brother's strongest sword technique."
"Now, examine it carefully. See how many sword techniques are contained within this sword mark. For these seven days, aside from daily chores, you must spend your time here observing this mark. Not only must you comprehend the sword techniques, but more importantly, you must comprehend the sword momentum within it, and ultimately, the sword intent. After seven days, Senior Brother will come to examine you and see whether you truly have the talent for sword cultivation."
Su Changyu spoke indifferently.
After speaking, he turned and left, not taking a single cloud with him, as free and unrestrained as the wind, leaving behind Ye Ping, whose face was full of shock.
Su Changyu left.
He had already departed from the rear cliff.
A smile he couldn't conceal bloomed across his face. He was overjoyed. Not only had he bluffed this little junior brother, but he had also freeloaded such a show-off line. It left Su Changyu endlessly delighted.
As for sword techniques?
He had casually slashed once. If anyone could see sword techniques in that, it would be a miracle.
And sword momentum? Sword intent?
Those were even more impossible. If Ye Ping said he could comprehend sword techniques or sword arts, there was a slight possibility, since Su Changyu actually knew them. But sword momentum and sword intent? That was simply impossible.
What is sword intent?
It is the will of the Sword Dao.
Sword arts are finite, but sword intent is infinite. True experts of the Sword Dao develop their own sword intent. The more sword intent one masters, the stronger one's sword Dao becomes. In other words, sword intent is similar to a boost—an augmentation added to sword techniques. It is not something ordinary people can grasp.
Therefore, it was absolutely impossible for Ye Ping to comprehend sword intent.
This was simply something Su Changyu had done to stall for time with Ye Ping.
Even the number one sword sect in Qingzhou wouldn't have new disciples comprehend sword intent right from the start.
This method was indeed a bit of a trap, but it was a helpless choice.
If he were truly asked to teach Ye Ping sword techniques, honestly, with his own amateurish few moves, he would blush himself. Teach others? He would be corrupting the youth, more like.
So rather than teaching randomly, it was better to let Ye Ping pass the time on his own. At the very least, he wouldn't be teaching him wrongly, right?
Thinking this, much of the guilt in Su Changyu's heart dissipated.
Just at this moment, a figure walked toward him. It was Second Junior Brother Xu Luochen.
Su Changyu immediately restrained the smile on his face and greeted Xu Luochen.
"Second Junior Brother." Su Changyu called out.
The latter heard the voice and immediately turned his gaze to Su Changyu.
"Senior Brother, what is it?" Xu Luochen was a bit curious, not understanding why his senior brother had called out to him.
"Second Junior Brother, let me ask you—do you know how powerful the pinnacle of the Sword Dao is?" Su Changyu asked Xu Luochen.
The latter was slightly stunned, scratching the back of his head, somewhat baffled. What did the pinnacle of the Sword Dao have to do with him? He didn't practice the sword; he refined pills. But since it was his senior brother speaking, Xu Luochen couldn't very well not answer. He could only shake his head and say, "I don't know."
Hearing this, Su Changyu indifferently spoke.
"Then this Senior Brother will tell you today."
"The true Sword Dao, if one steps into its pinnacle."
"A single blade of grass can slice the sun, moon, and stars clean."
Su Changyu said with an indifferent expression, his words filled with aloofness and coldness.
It caused Xu Luochen to involuntarily freeze.
Although he didn't understand the Sword Dao, these words truly sounded shocking. Especially paired with Su Changyu's bearing, it made one inexplicably feel reverence.
Even in Xu Luochen's mind, a scene emerged. In the scene, Su Changyu lightly pinched a blade of weed and then cut down all the stars in the heavens.
Hiss! Thinking of this scene, Xu Luochen couldn't help but tremble all over. That was just showing off way too much, wasn't it?
Xu Luochen was dumbfounded, unable to extricate himself from his own fantasy.
And seeing his second junior brother's expression, Su Changyu's mood was secretly overjoyed.
Awesome! So awesome! So freaking awesome!
However, long-standing composure made Su Changyu maintain that aloofness.
Su Changyu didn't say another word. He left directly, leaving behind the bewildered Xu Luochen.
A good while passed before Xu Luochen came back to his senses. However, by now, Su Changyu was no longer there.
"Senior Brother's ability to show off is getting stronger and stronger. If I didn't know he was a sword Dao trash, I almost would have believed it."
"But this line is indeed pretentious enough. Slicing the sun, moon, and stars clean with a blade of grass."
Xu Luochen muttered to himself. There was still a trace of shock in his eyes. After all, these words truly had some domineering aura.
As for Ye Ping, honestly, he didn't harbor the slightest doubt about Su Changyu's words.
It was just that Ye Ping was a bit worried. He had never practiced the sword before. It was very likely that even after watching for seven days, he wouldn't see anything at all.
But even so, Ye Ping still obediently stared at the sword mark on the ground. How could he know whether he had talent or not without trying?
And so, Ye Ping stared at the sword mark on the ground for a full hour. To be honest, Ye Ping hadn't seen anything at all in that hour. By the end, he even felt restless and irritable.
But just at this moment, as a clear breeze brushed past, Ye Ping suddenly felt a burst of refreshment.
In the next moment, when he looked at the sword mark again—in that instant, a different comprehension emerged.